Tiny Dancer
by SuperGirl06
Summary: Alex is a busy woman but is she too busy to realize a relationship when she sees it? Alex and Olivia pairing in future.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story, except for the character of Meghan. I also apologize for those who get the song Tiny Dancer stuck in their head after reading this title.**

**Chapter 1**

As Alex continued to push herself to go faster along the path in the park, she fought to keep her head clear. The woman had a lot to stress lately and these runs were supposed to help her work off that pressure. Lately more and more of her lunch hours were dedicated to running which wasn't fair to everyone else who was trying to catch her at a free moment between court and when she was with clients. Her intern, who was in charge of setting up appointments, was getting threats over the phone because people could not get in to see her as soon as they wanted.

'I'll have to take her out to lunch sometime,' Alex thought as she dodged a dog walker on the same path.

As she started to climb a set of stairs heading out of the park, an alarm went off on her watch. Alex slowed her pace down to a slow jog. She had a few minutes left to cool down and stretch before she had to don her suit again.

After she stretched, Alex headed back to the gym in between the police station and the District Attorney's office. She went into the locker room and went over to the back wall where her locker was located. She started to get ready for a shower when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Hey Alex, haven't seen you around in awhile," the smiling detective said turning the dial on a lock a few lockers down.

"Hi Olivia. Yeah, they've got me swamped in the office lately. I haven't had a chance to stop by and see my favorite detectives in awhile, have I?" Alex answered as she continued to grab things for her shower, rolling her towel around her tighter.

"Yeah, Munch is taking personal offense. You may want to stop by soon because the longer you wait the more he's gonna be on you about cheating on him." Olivia joked pulling a bag from her locker.

"I'll keep that in mind. How are things there? I know you guys are keeping me busy but any thing I should know about that I might not?"

"Nothing new that you shouldn't all ready know about. We're just making head way on the Mitchell case but you should have gotten an update on that yesterday afternoon."

"Yeah, Meghan gave me the update. That's a great find in the phone records. We'll see if we can cut a deal with Harden for his partner."

"Yeah, we'll work on that. I don't want to take up more of your time though counselor, I hear it's pretty expensive these days. Enjoy your shower and don't work too hard. We wanna keep you around for awhile," Olivia said tossing her black gym bag over her shoulder. "If you need someone to vent at let me know and I'll send Elliot over for you to yell at for awhile. He needs it sometimes."

Alex laughed thinking about trying to yell at the high strung, bull dog of a detective. "Yeah, I'll probably pass on that but it was nice catching up with you Olivia. Maybe I'll have Meghan set up an appointment with you sometime for more catching up."

"Yeah, have your intern call mine. See you later Alex," Olivia said turning to leave.

Alex smiled. That was the first friendly conversation she had had in a long time with anyone. She started to put her red track suit in the locker and looked down at her watch on the bench, catching the time. "Ah, shit!" Alex grabbed her shower stuff and ran into the showers for a quick clean up since she was all ready late.

* * *

After her meeting, Alex leaned back in her chair and shut her eyes for a moment of peace and quiet. The moment was soon interrupted by a knock at the door. Alex sighed and brought herself back up to sit straight in her chair. "Come in."

In walked the short haired, brunette detective she had run into earlier that day, with coffee in hand. "Hey, the guys and I thought you might be in need of this," Olivia said setting down the cup on her desk. "Hope you don't mind, Meghan said you had a spare minute between this meeting and your next. She told me not to blame her if I got tossed out on my ass though."

Alex grinned back. "Actually both the coffee and you are welcomed any time," Alex pulled the coffee over and breathed in the aroma of the steaming cup. "Is this a raspberry mocha? This is my favorite. How did you know?"

"I've taken your order before," Olivia said looking around the room taking in the very official looking office. Not many personal items were in the office with the exception of a few pictures, diplomas and certificates.

"What? When have you gotten me coffee?

"After the Butler case. We wanted to congratulate you on the first time Cragen complimented you. It takes most people years to get one of those from him."

"Olivia, that was months ago! Why on earth would you remember something like that? And I still don't think 'way to not screw everything up this time' counts as a compliment," Alex asked eyeing the detective.

Olivia laughed, "Hey, it's better than a lot of the stuff he's said to us. And I'm a detective remember, trained memories and all that. Plus, I remember thinking it was interesting because I didn't expect that kind of a drink order from you. I pictured you as a latte woman," Olivia said looking at the blonde at her desk, holding her gaze with the blue eyes behind the dark rimmed glasses. "Well, I should get going, Munch is going to get jealous about me being here so long."

"Of course, we wouldn't that to happen," Alex answered, "Well, thank you again for the coffee Olivia. I'll make it a point to stop by the precinct tomorrow, okay?"

"You're welcome and it'll be nice seeing you down there. Just remember to make an appointment with my intern. His name is Elliot. Don't be too intimidated by the gorilla look he's got going on, he's mostly harmless," Olivia said over her shoulder, giving Alex a wink as she went out the door.

Alex leaned back in her chair taking in the warmth and smell of the coffee, with a smile on her face. Again, her moment of relaxation was interrupted by a knock at her door. Alex rolled her eyes and set down the coffee. "Come in."

Meghan, Alex's fresh-out-of-college-on-her-way-to-law-school intern poked her small, blonde head into the office. "Alex, I just wanted to let you know your next appointment is running a little late if you wanted to step out for a breath of fresh air for a minute. They kept apologizing but there was an accident on York and there was no way around it."

"No, that's great actually. I'll get to enjoy this coffee while it's warm. Why don't you come in and bring your calendar I want to set up a time I can take you out to dinner for all the hard work the past few weeks."

"Sure, let me grab that and my coffee."

"Of course. Wait a minute, Olivia brought you coffee too?" Alex asked a little impressed by the detective's gesture.

"Yeah, she said she wanted to stay on my good side since I might be her only contact with you at times," Meghan said coming back in with her coffee, shutting the door behind her. "She's funny for a sex cop. You wouldn't expect it from her either. She seems like the quiet, 'drink a glass of wine alone at home on a Saturday night over a good book' kind of person but with a side of 'I'll mess you up at the drop of a hat if I need to.'"

Alex chuckled at the analysis of the detective from the younger girl. "I think that's a woman who would surprise you, Meghan. She is not afraid to go and hang out with the guys at the pubs after a long day. I'm afraid she can make some of the toughest cops in New York blush at times."

"So you've gone out with her then?" Meghan asked, leaning forward with interest.

"No, I've just heard stories," Alex said. She regretted not going out with the crew when they invited her but she always felt like she should be working more on parts of her cases. She bet Olivia would shock her more than even she could guess.

"You think it would be weird if I asked her to hang out sometime?" Meghan asked looking at her coffee.

This brought Alex back from her thoughts. "You want to go out with her?" Alex asked a little surprised.

"Well, I don't know many people in the area yet and she seems nice enough. I'd definitely feel safer around here having a cop for a friend."

"Well, don't call her a cop to her face. She likes her detective title now that she's got it. But, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to ask her. She might like not being the only woman there with the crew."

"Is she dating anyone? She probably has a boyfriend, right?"

Alex thought about it. She had never heard much about Olivia's personal life. What if she did have a boyfriend? Alex wondered a bit about the type of person Olivia would date. She couldn't clearly picture an ideal person for Olivia in her mind. Olivia seemed to always run alone, with the exception of her partner. She could picture them together but she knew Elliot was happily married to a woman named Kathy. Well, as happy as a sex crimes detective who worked non-stop and was always on the job mentally could be. Alex started to laugh when she pictured Olivia and Munch hanging out.

"Alex?" Meghan asked with a slight smile. This was the second time in the last few minutes that Alex had gone off on her own and got a funny look in her eyes.

"No, no I don't think Olivia is dating anyone but I don't know for sure. Either way, I think she'd be okay if you wanted to go out with her," Alex said her focusing her thoughts to her conversation with Meghan.

"Uh huh," Meghan said with a smirk. She was getting a vibe from the ADA when she talked about Olivia that she had never gotten from the other blonde. "So, I'm sorry I got us off track, you wanted to discuss a time for dinner together?"

"Yes, how do things look for you this coming week?" Alex asked pulling her day planner over.

"I'm free a lot of nights. The question is when are you free or less likely to stay late at work?" Meghan said glancing over at Alex's day planner that had scribbles all over it. For a lawyer she wasn't very organized. On more than one occasion Alex had told Meghan that was why she was here as an intern, to organize her. One day she would get to have the same pleasure.

Alex grinned knowing what Meghan meant. She seemed to be a little busier than she anticipated next week. "Well, what about this weekend?" Alex asked spotting an open night.

"This weekend? Sure, Saturday?"

"Yeah, Saturday it is then. It'll be totally informal. A kind of a get to you know dinner and see how you like things around here," Alex said as she penciled in the date.

"Maybe we could even see if Olivia wanted to meet up for drinks after? A ladies night out?" Meghan said, trying to suppress her smile.

Alex looked up at the intern. "Well, yeah, I guess we could. No reason not to anyway, this isn't really formal or official."

"Do you want me to call or do you want to make this one yourself?"

"I'll go ahead and call. We'll do dinner around seven o'clock so that could put us at the bar around nine o'clock?"

"Sure and if we happen to meet a little before that, I'm sure that would be fine as well. I'm going to go back out front. Your client should be coming soon," Meghan said rising out of the chair, moving towards the door. "Let me know what Detective Benson says."

"I will. Let me know when Phillips gets here."

Alex watched the girl leave and pulled her phone closer to her. She picked up the receiver and started to dial Olivia's desk. She was surely going to shock the detective with this request.

"Benson."

"Detective Benson, it's Alex."

"Hey Cabot! Talking with you three times in one day, that's gotta be some kind of record! You enjoy the coffee? Placing another order?" Alex could tell the woman on the other line was smiling as she asked.

"The coffee was wonderful. Meghan enjoyed hers as well. That was very thoughtful of you detective."

"You sound almost shocked Cabot. Didn't know we lowly detectives thought further than our asses?"

"Olivia!" Alex laughed, "I was just impressed is all. Most people, not just amazing detectives, wouldn't have thought to pick her up something. Even though I did want to thank you for the coffee again, that's not why I called."

"What can I help you with, counselor?"

"You can join Meghan and I for after dinner drinks this Saturday around nine." Alex said trying to be bold with the woman to make up for the fact she was kind of nervous. She was never really the 'going out' kind so she didn't have much experience trying to set things up with other people outside of her office schedule.

"Well, now I'm the one that's shocked. Not only are the lawyers going out but you want me to join up with you? Is there a catch I don't know about?" Olivia joked.

"No, no catch. We'd just enjoy your company. If you can't make it that's fine I just wanted to extend the invitation."

"I would love to Alex. I'll give you a call when I get off that night to check on you guys."

"Okay, sounds great," Alex said truly happy, "Well, I'll talk to you later then."

"Okay. Goodbye, Alex."

Alex hung up the phone with a smile on her face. She said yes. Alex started to think about what she had gotten herself into just as her phone beeped. Alex pushed the speaker button. "Yes?"

"Miss Cabot, Mr. Phillips is here to see you."

Alex adjusted the glasses on her face and moved her files back in front of her. It was back to business. "Send him in please."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The rest of the week went quickly for Alex. True to her word, she had stopped by the precinct with coffee and doughnuts for the crew. They seemed to enjoy a break from the sludge that people made in the break room and called it coffee. She put up with the razzing she got from Munch and gave a little back. She tried not to pay more attention to Olivia than the rest but she couldn't help but smile at the woman every chance she got. Something about her lately made Alex's stomach flutter, triggering a smile. Luckily, Olivia didn't call her out on her behavior even though she caught Alex's eyes a few times. The detective was as calm and cool as ever. 'And why wouldn't she be,' Alex had thought, 'she realizes it's just a few drinks between friends. It's me freaking out about it for some reason.'

Finally Saturday came and Alex had finished her last case around five o'clock. She had sent Meghan home early since the girl was not doing much else than bouncing around the office anyway. Alex needed to focus the last few hours of work and she was having problems doing that without reminders of the evening ahead from the intern.

Alex got in her car and drove to her apartment. Once inside she dropped her briefcase on a chair on the way to her bedroom. She had made reservations for Meghan and her at a grill that Meghan had picked out. It wouldn't have been Alex's choice but it was Meghan's dinner. Since it was completely informal, Alex decided tonight should be a night she dressed down and wore jeans. She changed out of her suit and replaced it was a pair of dark, low rise jeans and a sky blue sweater that clung to her figure with a white tank top underneath that peered over the 'v' collar of her sweater. She went into the bathroom to fix her make up a little and grabbed her black leather coat on her way out. Before she stepped out the door, she took a quick look at herself in the mirror hanging on the wall, running her hand through her hair, mussing it up a bit. 'Not bad counselor, not bad.' She laughed at herself as she left her place.

Alex met up with Meghan outside the grill and the two women headed into the restaurant. They were seated in a booth in the corner across from a table of college aged guys gorging themselves on plates of ribs. Alex tried to hide the disgusted look on her face.

"Wow, Alex, I didn't know you owned anything but suits. I'm impressed!"

"I do have a life outside of the office and courtroom Meghan. Just lately it hasn't been much," Alex said looking over the menu.

"No, you look very nice. Those guys are appreciating it as well," Meghan said gesturing over to the table next to them.

Alex looked over to see one or two of the guys look up occasionally and smile at the two woman. Alex cringed at the smiles covered in barbeque sauce. "Super, that was my goal when I got ready tonight," Alex said as she rolled her eyes. "I think I'm going to order a seafood salad."

"All right, are you ordering a drink now too?" Meghan said looking at the drink menu.

"I'll have a Gin and Toni with dinner. Feel free to order whatever you want. It's on me tonight for all the craziness I've put you through the last week or so."

The waitress came up and took their orders and brought back their drinks.

"I didn't peg you to be a beer girl Meghan," Alex said as she watched the other girl take a swig of her Blue Moon.

"No offense Alex, but we don't really know much about each other in general. I know you're not very organized but it doesn't really bother your work, you went to Harvard, much to your father, a Yale alum's dismay, graduated at the top of your class and the only extra curricular you did in college was the legal fraternity. You like coffee with two creams and one sugar, you read the paper before you start your day, you can never finish a whole bagel so you have a deal set up with another ADA down the hall to have half of yours when you get one and you never drink soda."

Alex paused with her drink to her lips listening to the intern rattle off random facts about Alex. When she was finished she took a sip of her drink. "Wow. That's…impressive. You've done your homework at least."

Meghan smiled over at her. "Actually, you can tell all of that and more just from your office. There's a picture of you and your dad in your college sweatshirts on your desk, a framed certificate from the fraternity and one for Magnum Cum Laude. Plus, I'm with you every morning to see the other things."

"Are you sure you don't want to become a detective Meghan?" Alex laughed.

"No, I couldn't see the stuff they see every day. I like the legal system enough to where I want to be apart of it but not quite at that level."

The waitress showed up with their food and the two started eating. "So can I ask about things I want to know about you?" Meghan asked cutting up her steak.

"Sure, fire away," Alex said spreading the tomatoes out around the salad.

"Well, you live alone, right?"

"Yup, ever since college."

"Are you dating anyone?"

"Wow, you get to the point quickly!" Alex laughed "No, I'm not seeing anyone."

"I thought so, I just wasn't sure. Have anyone in mind?" Meghan said with a grin.

"Nope, no one in mind," Alex said returning the smile. "I'm certain I haven't had conversations like this since high school."

"Well, then I'm making up for your friends in college who slacked horribly on girl talk," Meghan popping a piece of steak in her mouth.

Alex just shook her head. "Well, in other business, first let me say I think you are doing a wonderful job in the office and thank you for your patience with me and my schedule and my clients," Alex said as she rose her glass across the table to toast the younger woman.

"Cheers," Meghan answered taking a swig of her drink.

The rest of the dinner went smoothly and the two women had a great time sharing stories of college and Alex shared some court stories. Just as Alex was putting down her card to pay the bill she heard her cell phone ring. She looked down and saw 'Benson' on the caller ID.

"Hello Detective, perfect timing," Alex answered.

"I'm not Detective for another, oh, 12 hours or so if I can help it. Are you guys done with dinner?"

"Just finished up. Did you get to eat? You don't want to go out on an empty stomach."

"Yeah, I grabbed a sandwich on my way back to the precinct so I am good to go. Where are you guys headed to?"

"Well, I think we'll head to O'Malley's so Meghan can get the full effect of what everyone she works with is like after hours," Alex said signing her name to the receipt.

"Well, she's not the only one that has yet to experience that, Counselor. I'll meet you over there in a few."

Alex's usually pale skin became a little flushed as Olivia teased her. "Okay, bye."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

As she walked into the bar with Meghan in tow, Alex looked around the pub taking in her new atmosphere. It was a little smoky and laughter and juke box music filled the air. There were wooden tables and booths all over, most of which were full with off duty cops and a few lawyers Alex recognized. Alex walked over to the bar and ordered herself and Meghan a drink before they ventured out to get a table.

"C'mon," Meghan said taking her bottle from Alex and pulling her into the crowd of people.

It didn't take long for them to run into a familiar face. Olivia was sitting on a stool next to a table, talking with a tall woman in a dark leather jacket and wavy red hair. The two were laughing as Meghan and Alex approached. Alex felt her eyes glare a bit as she saw the redhead reach across and brush Olivia's arm.

"Hey, there you guys are! Stephanie, these are my friends I was waiting for Alex and Meghan. Guys, this is Stephanie," Olivia said motioning back and forth between the two parties.

Stephanie held out her hand to Meghan first and then Alex. "Hello, nice to meet you ladies," Stephanie said as she shook each of their hands. "Well, I'm going to get back to my party. Olivia, think about what I said."

Olivia smiled and watched as Stephanie walked away. Alex felt her eyes squint again as she noticed the sway in the other woman's walk.

"So, how was dinner?" Olivia asked, bringing her attention back to Meghan and Alex.

"It was good. We were at Gumby's Grill. Alex was being scoped out by a table full of guys the whole evening," Meghan said as she settled herself on a stool across from Olivia.

"Really? Nice work counselor," Olivia said smiling and taking a drink.

Alex smiled and took the stool next to Olivia and set her drink down. "Yes, it was very hard to impress a group of twenty somethings slathered in bar-b-que sauce."

"Well if you thought you'd get away from that kind of attention by coming here, you walked into the wrong bar," Olivia said giving Alex a wink.

Alex felt her cheeks get a little warmer. Meghan noticed the fact Alex had to look away and take a drink.

"So, Olivia, you guys come here often after a shift?" Meghan asked pulling Olivia's attention her way.

"Every so often. Generally when a case gets finished we'll pop in for a bit and take a moment to relax before the next case," Olivia said. "The guys are here a lot more than I am but when I do need a moment this is the bar I usually go to."

"You guys should give us a call next time you're down here. We could stop by," Meghan said looking around at the different people at the bar. This was the type of place she could enjoy more often.

Olivia and Meghan continued their conversation on the regular bar patrons at O'Malley's. Alex continued to look around and found a flash a red hair in the crowd. Alex watched as Stephanie talked with members from her group but glancing over at her detective every once in awhile. She began to wonder if there was more than friendship between the women. This redhead was actually someone she could picture Olivia with just from observing their brief encounter earlier. She wondered how she could even find out. Alex had to finally admit to herself that her interest in Olivia Benson was growing more and more past professional.

Alex was snapped out of her daydream by a foot sliding against her calf. She jumped at the contact.

"Whoah there Alex," Olivia said laughing as she continued to stand. "Just getting up to get a drink. Do you need a refill?"

Alex looked at her drink which now had been watered down a bit from melted ice. Making a decision, she gave Benson a nod and began to drink her drink again. Olivia left the table to go back up to the bar.

"Alex, are you okay?" Meghan asked looking over at her boss who still looked a little spooked and was now draining the drink she was ignoring only moments ago.

Alex had almost forgotten the girl was there. She looked at the girl and gave her a smile. "Yeah Meghan, why?"

"Oh I don't know, because you just downed almost that whole drink in the last few seconds when you hadn't touched it since we got here?" Meghan said. Then the girl looked over her shoulder to the bar to make sure Olivia was still occupied. "Tell you what, just tell me you like her and I can help you out."

Alex looked back and the girl who was grinning like a chesire cat. Her immediate reaction was to deny the accusation for several reasons. One being Alex had just come to this realization herself. Two, she was Meghan's boss and it would be totally inappropriate for them to carry on like this together. Three…well Alex didn't have a third but she was sure there was one. Unfortunately, Alex didn't have much a plan herself and Meghan did seem willing.

"What exactly would you do to 'help out'?" Alex asked.

"I'll take that as a yes, you are interested in her. Probably the closest thing I'm going to get from you," Meghan said shaking her head with the grin still present. "I'll get the scoop on her. I would have to assume that she is into girls, if even just part time, and I am sure you could get her if you wanted. Let me talk to her some and get a feel for what's going on with her and we can look into where to go from there. Why don't you go find someone else you know here and pretend you can be social and have a good time," Meghan said adding a wink to the other blonde at the end.

"I can be social and have a good time! I told you earlier, I did have a life outside of work."

"Super! Then prove it now. When she comes back take your drink and tell her you saw someone you know and want to catch up with. Give me about fifteen to twenty minutes and then come back and I'll decide where to go from there."

"You sound like you've done this before," Alex said with a smile.

"Well we all have our talents. Yours are in the courtroom and mine are currently in social settings like this wonderful bar. Now quiet, she's coming back," Meghan said noticing Olivia heading back to the table, stopping to greet a few people along the way.

Olivia came back and swung herself back onto her stool keeping the drinks in her hand steady. She set them down on the wooden table and smiled up at the two other women. "Miss me?"

Meghan laughed and gave Alex a look as she took a drink of her beer. Alex caught the look and grabbed her drink. "Hey, do you guys mind if I leave you for just a minute? I saw a friend in here and I want to go say hi. Is that okay with you guys?"

Olivia looked over at Meghan and shrugged. "Sure Alex. I think we'll be fine. It'll give us a minute to get to know each other. See what's behind that stern intern exterior," Olivia said with a smirk.

"Yeah, totally cool," Meghan answered raising her glass to her, sending Alex on her way.

Alex left the table hoping this was the right thing to do. Luckily there was a table with some people she knew not too far away so she could keep an eye on Meghan and Olivia when she wanted. She pulled up a chair a greeted the group and joined in the conversation.

Alex was actually enjoying herself with one of the girls from another firm and a guy from her own. They were talking about their offices and people in them. It was interesting hearing about her coworkers lives outside of work. She was really enjoying a story about one of the interns who tried to flirt with the guy in her office so she could help on a case but she glanced at her watch and saw she had actually been gone closer to half an hour than fifteen minutes.

"Oh guys, I'm sorry to do this but I should get back to my group. This was fun though, we should do it again," Alex said as she pulled her chair out and put it back at the other table. She finished her goodbyes and headed back over to the table that she had left Olivia and Meghan at. She came back to find the table occupied by another group.

"What the…" Alex scanned the bar looking for her intern and detective. She finally caught a glimpse of the back of someone who resembled Meghan at the bar. Alex headed that way through the crowd. As she got closer she could see Meghan and Olivia were doing shots and they had been joined by a few others. One in particular grabbed Alex's attention as her flaming red hair caught Alex's eyes. Alex tried to remain calm when she approached the women thinking about all the extra work she could give Meghan on Monday for this 'plan' of hers. She came up to her intern and tapped her on the shoulder. Meghan whipped around and flashed Alex a big, bright smile.

"Alex! Have a shot with us!" Meghan said motioning to the group of women. "This next round is on Stephanie."

This wasn't what Alex expected to hear and a little more than confused by Meghan's actions. "Um, no thanks, I'm not much of a shot person."

"No, neither am I," Meghan said trying to get Alex up more to the bar. "But Stephanie set us up with this great shot call 'Redheaded Slut'. It's actually really tasty!"

Alex raised her eyebrows at the name. "How fitting," she mumbled as she looked over at Stephanie smiling at Olivia. But to her surprise, Olivia wasn't looking back at Stephanie. She was looking right at Alex.

She heard Meghan whisper in her ear, "Play nice Alex, she's digging you more."

"Thought you ditched us Counselor," Olivia said with a cocky grin.

Meghan moved over and pushed Alex into the newly opened spot next to Olivia. Alex slid onto the stool that was so close to Olivia's she had no choice but to rub against her leg as she sat down. The warmth spread up Alex to other regions from the contact.

"No, I did not ditch you guys," Alex said giving Olivia a smile of her own. If Olivia was going to pay more attention to her than Stephanie she might as well use it. "I told you I was catching up and I'd be back. Actually, I think you ditched me seeing as I went back to the table where you were supposed to be at to find no one."

Alex could see an added twinkle in Olivia's eyes. Were the two of them actually successfully flirting?

"You know, I didn't think of it that way. Then I feel as though I should get you another drink as an apology for any unneeded stress or concern caused by us. I heard you don't do shots though?"

"You heard correctly. No redheaded ones or any others," Alex said trying to keep from glaring at Stephanie who was still lingering close to Olivia.

"So that includes body shots as well?" Olivia asked trying to flag down the bartender.

Alex couldn't help but laugh at the detective's self-confidence. "I've never done one before but I'm positive those are under the same list as the rest of them."

"Well, you've never done one, so how do you know?" Olivia said, challenging the other woman.

"Isn't it the same thing as any other shot, just off of a body part of someone?"

"Which makes all the difference," Olivia said looking back at her with a smile.

"I think that's maybe something to try after date three, Detective," Alex said laughing, trying not to think too much about the image of her doing a shot off of Olivia.

"Well, if this counts as one, let's work on getting two set up," Olivia said just as the bartender came up to take their orders. "Can I get one MGD, one gin and tonic and one…what do you want Meghan?"

Alex turned to where Meghan was just standing only to see some guy in a flannel reaching to get some peanuts. Alex scanned the room to see Meghan dancing with one of the girls from the other firm she was talking with earlier. They were dancing close to each other and laughing. Every so often one would reach out and touch the other. Alex couldn't help but smile as she started to gain a little more insight on her intern. 'So much for Meghan helping her out too much with Olivia,' Alex thought to herself.

"Yeah, I don't think she'll be caring about anymore drinks from me now," Olivia said as she turned her stool to watch the dance floor area. "Definitely broke past that 'stern intern exterior'," Olivia said with a chuckle as she accented the comment with air quotes.

Alex began to feel a little more confident in investigating Olivia. "Well, I would say you're not completely off her list. She was very excited to set something up with you, but I think her immediate attentions are elsewhere, yes."

"She's a cute kid. Definitely going to do well for herself. She reminds me of you in a lot of ways."

"Oh, she's quite different from me," Alex said with a grin continuing to watch the couple dance.

"Are you saying you can't dance like that?"

"I didn't say that. I can most definitely dance. I took ballet for 17 years. Dancing is one thing I can do," Alex said looking over at Olivia who cocked her head and eyebrows in surprise.

"Well, that shouldn't shock me knowing a little about your family and all, but yet it still does," Olivia said turning and taking her and Alex's drink from the bartender. "Here you go, Counselor."

Alex turned and took the drink from Olivia, quickly bringing it up to her lips. "Thank you. I think I owe you the next few rounds, Liv."

"Well, you could show me some of your dance moves on the floor and I'll call it even," Olivia said with a wicked grin.

"Ah, you'd have to buy a few more rounds for that to be arranged here. Not exactly the type of setting for petit jeté."

"Maybe some other time then? You know I…"

Alex turned to see what stopped Olivia to see Stephanie had returned and was whispering something into Olivia's ear over her shoulder. Olivia turned to look at Alex and then turned to look at Stephanie. Stephanie walked over to Alex and stuck her hand out. "It was so nice to meet you, Alex. Maybe we'll run into each other again sometime."

"I can only hope," Alex said taking the woman's hand and giving it a hard, brief shake. She hoped the sarcasm wasn't too noticeable.

Olivia stood up and walked behind Stephanie. As she started to pass Alex, she leaned over to Alex. "I'll be right back. I've got to say goodbye. Maybe on my way back I can talk to someone about setting up some of those bars and mirrors you see in dance studios."

Alex grinned back in return but as she felt Olivia pass she turned to watch the two women leave the bar. From where she was sitting Alex could see a glimpse of Olivia hailing a taxi for Stephanie. As the taxi pulled up, Stephanie wrapped her arms around Olivia. Alex watched in jealousy as the two talked very closely to one another. Then jealousy went to horror when she saw Stephanie's lips meet with Olivia's. Alex whirled around in her chair, silently cursing herself for thinking the two didn't have some kind of relationship. She turned back around to see Olivia shutting the door of the cab and turn to head back inside. Alex tried to calm herself as usual, but found herself unable to do so. Quickly, she grabbed her purse and coat and made her way across the dance floor and into the bathrooms.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry for making you guys wait like this. I actually have been working on this but I thought I had posted more than what I had. Thank you for reading and an extra special thank you to those of you who have reviewed. I promise, I will not let you guys down by letting this story go. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 4

Alex walked into the women's bathroom to walk into the line of women waiting for an empty stall. Alex silently cursed at herself again for thinking she could escape in the bathrooms because there is always a line in the bathroom at bars and this one was no different. On top of that, now she's put herself in a corner. To actually leave the bar she'd have to walk across the whole place again to get to the door.

Alex turned back around and went out the door running right into Olivia.

"Hey, is the line brutal in there?" Olivia asked.

"Not too bad, no," Alex answered caught in Olivia's shining eyes. She stood still in the doorway as Olivia looked back at her. It was as if this was the first time Alex had gotten to look into Olivia's eyes tonight. She knew it wasn't of course but she couldn't convey that to her body and mind, who both appeared to be on break right now. The two stood together until the door behind Alex opened and a woman pushed into the blonde. "Oh, sorry honey, didn't see ya there," the older lady said as Alex broke the stare and stepped out of the woman's path.

Olivia stepped over in front of Alex again. "Alex, are you okay? You seem…jumpy still. If you need to get a stall in there I can whip out the badge. That usually clears people out," Olivia joked.

Alex couldn't help but laugh. She shook her head. "No, need for that. I'm fine. I just felt.." Alex said, not letting go of what was bothering her.

Olivia got that smirk on her face again. "You saw the kiss, didn't you?"

'Damn, she's good.' Alex thought. "I did but I'm fine with it. I mean, you and her, I'm fine with women being together. I just…didn't see her as your type is all," Alex said trying to add a little laugh to lighten the situation, which was making her a little overheated.

It looked as though Olivia was trying to read Alex's mind. Alex hoped to God that wasn't possible as she tried to gather herself mentally. She found herself in this anxious state more with Olivia than she often did in court.

"We're not dating. Actually, we were set up on a blind date once but it never really worked out for me," Olivia answered.

"Oh? Why not?" Alex asked, realizing Olivia had just in fact come out to her.

"What can I say, she wasn't really my type," Olivia answered grinning at Alex. "We uh… why don't we grab a table for this kind of a conversation. I don't know if standing in front of a bar bathroom is ever really ideal for any conversation," Olivia said, showing the first hint of uneasiness for the first time this evening. It gave Alex a little boost in confidence that maybe she wasn't the only one feeling butterflies fluttering around right now.

"Why don't you, go take care of what you were coming over here to take care of and I'll find us a table?" Alex said.

"Sounds like a plan. I'll be right over," Olivia answered moving her way to the bathroom.

Alex smiled at the thought that there just might be hope yet.

Alex set her stuff down at a near by table. After a few minutes, Olivia slid into the booth across from her.

"All right, this is much better. Okay, now, Stephanie and I," Olivia started as she leaned her arms on the table and clasped her hands together. Alex chuckled to herself because she felt like she was being briefed on a case by the detective. "We went out on our date, had a great time but the more we talked the more I realized we were so much alike. There was some attraction, I'm not going to try and deny that," Olivia added with a smile, which made Alex smile back and fight back the grimace at the thought of Oliva and Stephanie together. "There just wasn't really enough for me to want to pursue it more. She had different feelings but nothing has happened. That kiss is one of the few things that have happened and it happened this time because I was not paying attention to what she was doing when I was trying to get her a taxi. She's a good person, just not someone I want to date. End of story."

Alex began to genuinely smile, "Okay, not such a bad story. I expected more of a climatic plot, but the ending was my favorite part."

Olivia laughed, "So, did you mean to use an innuendo in there or were you just being too smart for your own good?"

Alex thought about what she had just said and rolled her eyes when she realized what Olivia was referring to. "Climatic. Nice, very nice detective. Yeah, I can't tell who is worse, you or the guys you work with."

"You grow to like us," Olivia said with a twinkle in her eye. "Hey, are you done drinking for the night? Do you need another one?"

Alex looked at her watch. Tomorrow was Sunday but she had to go in and work on a few things. The earlier she could get in, the better. "I should probably stop. While you may be on call tomorrow, I definitely have to be in the office."

"Hopefully Meghan doesn't have to join you," Olivia said motioning to the other side of the bar.

Alex looked over to see Meghan doing another round of shots with the new group of people she had found. Alex just shook her head. "No, I don't suppose she will be joining me. I can't be too upset though, she probably hasn't had a night like this since she left school. You have to have one every once in awhile."

"Yeah, she'll be fine. It looks like she's got someone looking out for her."

Alex glanced back over to see the girl Meghan had been dancing with standing by her with an arm around her waist supporting the other girl every once in awhile when she needed it.

"I've seen her in here before. Seems like a good kid. She's in a legal firm as well. I've never seen her drink once while in here. She just likes to hang out and dance with people. Plus, I've been keeping an eye on her tonight ever since they've been dancing and she's been taking good care of her, getting her to drink water sometimes and everything."

Alex laughed thinking about Olivia on the job at the bar watching out for Meghan, "I think you're a little taken with my intern, Detective Benson. I may have to step in here and interfere if this relationship goes any further."

"Which relationship, mine and Meghan's or mine and yours," Olivia challenged right back.

Alex's eyebrows shot up at the blatant reference of the two women together. She decided to joke back, "Well, both if you want to be like that. Actually, I should go over and let her know I'm thinking of going soon and see if she wants to ride back with me or not."

"All right, I'm probably going to head out soon as well. I'll just go settle my tab. Will you come find me before you sneak out of here and try to ditch me again?"

Alex rolled her eyes and fought to keep a blush from rising to her face at the mention of Alex ditching her _again_. Hopefully she was referring to earlier in the evening with the switch of tables and not a short time ago when Alex escaped to the bathroom. Hopefully she didn't really know that was why Alex was in there.

Alex made her way over to the table where Meghan was talking with some other people, motioning wilding with her hands. "And then the bike rider had to swerve out of the way but he got clipped by this other biker.." Alex put her hand on Meghan's shoulder. Meghan turned and gave Alex a big grin. "Heeeey! You are still here! I thought you split and didn't tell me."

"No, I wouldn't do that. In fact, I was letting you know that I was thinking of taking off soon if you wanted to share a cab or something," Alex said.

"I think I'll be taking off soon too but I'm fine with the cab ride back. Hey, did I notice you and the tall, dark and beautiful detective making nice over there?"

Alex just grinned back at Meghan. The girl was clearly as inebriated as Alex thought. "We were talking, yes. So, I shouldn't count on you to bring in coffee tomorrow morning?"

"Umm, maybe I'll bring you a cup in the afternoon? If that's okay with you I mean. I promise I made sure I wasn't scheduled…" Meghan said. The other girl had released her hold on Meghan's waist to let the other two step away from the group to talk but was still glancing up at the two women talking.

"Don't worry about it. Come in if you feel like it, I'm sure I can find work for you but don't stress about it. Enjoy your night tonight because on Monday, you're back to being mine," Alex said glancing over at the other woman.

Meghan grinned back, "Deal. Thanks for tonight Alex, I really needed it. I don't think you faired too badly either."

"Alright, enough with that," Alex warned mock sternly. "You're welcome, you deserved it. I'll see you later. Be safe, all right?"

"Yes m'am," Meghan said as she turned back to rejoin the group and the girl waiting for her.

Alex made her way back up to the bar to see Olivia leaning on it by the door. "I'm going to try and hide my shock that she's not ready to go yet," Olivia joked. "You ready?"

Alex nodded and put her coat on and then went out the door, feeling the brisk air hit her in the face. She walked over to the curb reaching up to hale a taxi down the street. She turned to Olivia. "So, do you need a cab as well?"

"Yeah, which way are you heading?"

Alex pointed one way. Olivia smiled and pointed the other way.

"Well, I guess this is good night then," Alex said as she noticed a cab flash their lights at her to let her know they were coming over.

"Yeah, good news is I don't think it will be too long before we see each other again. Don't have to wait for some random weekend to meet up at a bar again," Olivia answered.

"True. Or wait around for one of us to get the guts to call the other," Alex added, feeling confident the detective was sharing her feelings. "Thank you for the drinks tonight Detective. I'll have to buy you some rounds next time." Alex said stepping off the curb as the taxi pulled up.

Olivia stepped forward to hold the door for her. "Oh don't worry, I won't forget free drinks, especially when a good looking, successful, lawyer type is buying," Olivia said with a wink.

Alex didn't get a chance to fight the red that flooded her face this time. Instead she smiled back. "I'm looking forward to it. Good night detective."

"Good night Counselor," Olivia answered back, smiling as she closed the door on the taxi.

Inside, Alex gave the driver her address and leaned back with a childlike grin across her lips thinking of future evenings with a certain dark haired beauty.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The next morning Alex was running a little later than she wanted but was still going to be able to put in some good time on her cases. She was felt good that she was able to go on a quick run and shower before she headed to the office. As she passed Meghan's desk on the way to her office, she saw a cup of Starbuck's and a piece of paper folded in half with her name on it sitting on the edge of the intern's desk. Alex shifted the newspaper and briefcase in her arms around and picked up the piece of paper.

"Alex,

Thought you might need this. Give me a call for #2 and then #3.

-Liv"

Alex was confused about the '#2, #3' reference for a second until she remembered their talk of the body shots and three dates being the prerequisite. 'In your dreams, Olivia…or mine.' Alex thought with a chuckle as she unlocked the door to her office. As she sat down and started to get things ready to be worked on she took a drink of the fresh, still hot, coffee, she had to give the detective credit. She definitely had the right idea on how to go about getting those dates.

Alex worked all morning, being pulled into her work cases. She had gotten ahead on a few things but still found herself getting set back on other cases. After one particularly frustrating problem, she took her glasses off and slid them to the front of her desk until they ran into her name plaque. She looked down at her watch and realized now would be a great time to grab some lunch since the noon hour had come and gone already.

She got up and grabbed her coat and purse and headed out into the city.

As Alex came back after grabbing a sandwich from a deli down a few blocks, she was surprised neither Olivia or Meghan had popped into her office yet. She put her stuff down on her desk and went to get a bottle of water from the lunch room down the hall. When she came back, she sat back down to eat her Turkey and Swiss she noticed a small carton of Ben & Jerry's Half Baked ice cream near the front of the desk.

"What in the hell?" Alex asked as she reached for the ice cream.

"Okay, so I'm not as smooth as my partner, but if I would have been able to put this note on the desk before you came in I could have been out the door without you seeing me," a voice from the front of her office, beside her door said.

"Elliot?" Alex asked trying not to laugh at the normally intimidating detective standing in her office with a spoon in one hand and folder piece of paper in the other.

"Liv wanted to drop this off for you herself but Captain pulled her into a meeting. I was on my way to drop these off to you any way," Elliot said putting the spoon, and motioned to a new file on Alex's desk.

"So, you guys got called in?" Alex asked reaching over, grabbing the file to look over it.

"Yeah, around 5 this morning. I know I got some sleep but I don't think Olivia did. What do you think?" Elliot asked peering over at Alex.

Alex kept herself from blushing, "I don't know, I haven't seen her today. She seems tired?"

Elliot kept his gaze on Alex, "That's the funny thing. She doesn't seem tired, in fact, quite the opposite. She's pretty chipper. I know my partner Alex. After five years together I've picked up on a few things. One of them is when she acts like a little school girl it usually means she's just gotten herself into new relationship. Know anything about this counselor?" Elliot asked looking at the ice cream with an eyebrow raised.

Alex was a little irritated at the detective and his attitude towards her right now. "I'm not sure what you're trying to get at, Detective, but I might be careful where I was going with this if I were you."

"I just find it interesting that I know she went out with a group of unnamed lawyer types last night and now this morning she's busting her ass to get a cup of coffee in here this morning and stressing about not getting some ice cream to you now," Elliot said walking around with his arms crossed in front of his chest, not looking at Alex anymore.

"I'm still waiting for what you want Elliot," Alex answered, not enjoying his cat and mouse game.

"I'm just wondering who you set her up with last night," Elliot answered finally glancing back over in her direction.

Alex felt the weight lift off her shoulders as she registered Elliot's question. He didn't suspect anything between the two women after all. Alex found it hard to believe, but maybe Elliot didn't know about Olivia in the first place.

"That, Detective, is something you should take up with your partner," Alex answered unwrapping her sandwich.

"You're seriously not going to tell me," Elliot said stepping towards the desk.

Alex tried to keep the grin from her face. "No Elliot, I'm _seriously_ not going to tell you. This isn't high school. Go talk to Liv. But thanks for the ice cream," Alex said as she tapped the carton with the spoon.

Elliot rolled his eyes and mumbled something that resembled 'any time' as he went back out the office door.

Alex shook her head and finally let out a chuckle as she started to eat her lunch. As she was eating, she remembered the note Elliot had delivered as well. She reached up and unfolded it.

"(201) 761-1427 in case you forgot."

"What am I going to do with you Olivia?" Alex said aloud. In her mind she knew she had a few ideas.

Meghan wandered into Alex's office around 3 o'clock with her sunglasses still on and coffee in both hands.

"As I promised," Meghan said setting down one of the cups in front of Alex.

"How are you doing, Champ?" Alex asked, amused and impressed at the same time that her intern came in.

"I. I am fine. I am here and I am ready to work," Meghan said heading back to her desk. "How was your morning?"

"Oh, it was fine. I'm expecting updates on the Harrison case. Also, SVU just got a new case this morning that I should be hearing more about sometime soon," Alex answered continuing to work.

"A new case? What happened?"

"I don't know the details but a woman was found in an alley by some kids waiting for a bus going to an early basketball tournament. Kids were shaken up but the detectives were going around trying to find other witnesses this morning."

"So, Olivia won't have a night off for awhile again, huh?" Meghan asked with a smile that Alex could hear.

Alex started to answer when someone beat her to it. "You never know, sometimes we get lucky breaks. Not so far with this one, but it does happen."

The detective in question was there in person, leaning against her doorframe facing the intern's desk smiling at Meghan. "You have fun last night?" Olivia asked the younger blonde.

"Yeah, it was a good time," Meghan said, nodding her head.

"No details to share?" the detective pushed.

"None to share at this time and place, no," Meghan answered with a grin.

"Ah, we'll have to set up lunch sometime. Unfortunately, I have to drop this stuff off and head back. We're still canvassing the area on the new case and Elliot's got the car running."

Alex's leg was bouncing up and down as she waited for some kind of attention from Olivia. Subconsciously she was biting her lip as well. Then she heard a knock on the door.

"As if I didn't hear you standing right there with the door open," Alex said looking up at the still smiling detective. She put her pen down and closed the file she was working on. "So, what do you have for me?"

"Unfortunately, not much more than that is already in the first file. We're still waiting on lab work and coroner's report. From what we can tell, this happened around midnight last night. Cause of death was stab wounds. Pictures are in the file. No witnesses yet. Kids can't provide us anything that we couldn't find out by looking around the area ourselves, just a shame they had to see the scene. No ID in the purse found in a dumpster nearby but did have a matchbook in it from a nearby bar that opens up later."

"How do you know the purse was hers?" Alex asked opening the file and flipping through the just started report.

"Well, there pictures in it. She was in some of them. They look like they were from a banquet or a dinner. We're working on tracking down some of the others in the pictures. Nothing really stood out in them to help with locations on where they were taken or anything."

Alex scanned over some of the other specifics nodding every once in awhile. "I'm assuming her pants or skirt wasn't found anywhere in the scene?"

"Nope. Who knows what the case could be with that though. Could have used them to clean her up a bit or they could have been taken as a trophy." Olivia said.

"Alright, well I won't keep you any longer. I'm sure your partner doesn't like waiting," Alex said closing the file again and placing it on a stack.

"Yeah, patience isn't really a virtue he possesses yet. Speaking of which, did he talk to you?" Olivia asked in a quieter voice.

"A little, why do you ask?" Alex asked leaning forward grabbing her glasses, putting them on.

"He keeps asking about last night. Just wanted to make sure he didn't try to interrogate you or anything."

"Well lucky for you, I happen to be amazing under scrutinizing pressure, Detective," Alex responded with a smirk. "And thank you for the coffee and ice cream earlier. You really didn't have to do that. It was nice…very nice, but you didn't have to."

"I'm just trying to stay fresh in your mind, Counselor. I know how many people you have fighting for your attention," Olivia added with a wink.

'I'm having a hard time getting you out of my mind," Alex thought.

"Well, I'm impressed. Maybe when things calm down we can get together again," Alex suggested hoping silently she wasn't being presumptuous.

"I'd like that," Olivia said sincerely, smiling a bright smile at Alex.

"Hey Liv, we got work to do, enough with the girl talk already!" a gruff and upset Elliot shouted from the hall.

Olivia rolled her eyes and looked back at Alex who didn't want the detective to go quite yet. "Told you, not a virtue he possesses yet. I'll talk to you later, Alex."

Alex continued to smile as Olivia left her office. She took in a deep breath and was rewarded with a waft of Olivia's perfume. It was a kind of vanilla fragrance. Alex couldn't put a name to it but right now 'Olivia' was a fitting name for the scent in her opinion. She sat a moment with her eyes shut thinking about the entrancing smell and its wearer.

Alex released the breath she had been holding and forced herself back to real life, which at the moment was the stack of files in front of her.

"Meghan, can you call DA Foreman and schedule an appointment tomorrow?"

"Sure thing Alex," Meghan answered as Alex could hear her pick up the phone and start dialing.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of Law and Order SVU. I only control Meghan and the storyline.

**A/N:** I can't even begin to apologize for how long it's taken me to update this story. All I can do is thank you guys in advance for reading it and an even bigger thank you if you let me know what you think.

This chapter is dedicated to Raheema for getting me to think about updating this story again. If you would like to read another Alex/Olivia story that, in my opinion, is really good check out Sleeping Together by Raheema.

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Alex leaned back in her chair, emitting a sigh as she took off her glasses and twirled them between her thumb and forefinger. She had finally felt like she was caught up on her current caseload. It had taken a lot longer than she had hoped, but she felt really good about her progress. She looked at her watch which told her it was going on ten o'clock.

"Well, it could be worse," Alex said to herself as she started to put some files away and gather the few things she thought she might still look over at home. As she stood, her stomach started to growl letting her know of its discontent with her for withholding dinner so far.

Alex rolled her eyes at her own body. She was planning on leaving earlier and just getting some pasta and a salad delivered once she got home. The problem was now by the time she got home, the place she wanted to order from wouldn't be delivering.

"What to do, what to do," Alex mumbled to herself. Then her fingers grazed the note she got with her ice cream with Olivia's phone number on it. She played with the scrap of paper with her fingertips, pondering what the detective would be up to at this time of night and if maybe she could persuade her into at least some dinner company.

'It's a long shot, but why not,' Alex thought as she pulled her phone closer to her and dialed the digits off of the paper.

"Benson," Olivia's voice answered after two rings.

"Dect…Olivia, it's Alex."

"Hey, how's it going? You're still calling from your office this late?"

"Yeah, I was just finishing up. I was wondering if you had eaten yet."

"Actually, I haven't. We were just going to get some Chinese ordered in but I think I can take a breather for a bit," Olivia answered, bringing a smile to Alex's face.

"Well, would you still like some Chinese food or could I talk you into some Italian? I've kind of had a craving for some Chicken Cacciatore."

"I think you could probably talk me into something like that, yeah. Is Mini-Alex coming?" Olivia asked.

"Mini-Alex?" Alex asked, with her eyebrows knitted in confusion. "Who is that?"

"You know, Meghan? I still need to find out what happened last night with that girl," Olivia said with a slight chuckle.

Alex couldn't help but chuckle in return. She definitely enjoyed this kind of banter with Olivia and was happy about how natural it came for the two of them lately.

"Number one, I don't think she would enjoy that little nickname. Number two, I didn't realize you would such a gossip, Olivia Benson. Do you and the boys all stand around the water cooler swapping stories from the courthouse and I was just not aware?" Alex asked in a teasing tone.

"Well, you have to do something to pass the time, right? You can't tell me all you suits don't stand around trading the latest office 'who-slept-with-who' while waiting for your cases," Olivia said continuing the banter.

"Yes, you have totally got us _suits_ pegged, Detective, however, if that was all you were looking forward to at this meal you may want to take a rain check because I sent Meghan home hours ago. She looked like if she stayed much longer she was going to start hitting her head on the desk to make herself feel better. In fact, I think I heard her mumble something about doing something like that."

"No, no. Your company is all I want," Olivia answered, causing that familiar heat to rise to Alex's face.

"Well, how about I meet you in front of your building in about 15 minutes? The place I'm thinking of is closer to you," Alex answered, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt at the moment.

"Sounds good, see ya then," Olivia said before Alex hung up.

* * *

Alex stood outside the precinct taking in the brisk, fall air around her. This was Alex's favorite season. The weather was just right in her opinion and the parks always had more of a small town feel to them when the leaves on the trees were changing color. Of course, there were always her fond memories of raking leaves into the biggest pile she could and launching herself into it, spreading the leaves all around just so she could do it all again. 

While Alex stood smiling thinking about those times, her thoughts were interrupted by a friendly voice.

"With that kind of a smile you have to be thinking of something good," Olivia said as she took in the sight of the blonde ADA who was staring off into space with a grin tugging at her lips.

Alex turned to look at the detective as she made her way down the steps, with a similar smile on her face. "Just reveling in the feeling of the season, Detective, I don't suppose hardworking, nose to the grind, law enforcing individuals such as yourself ever get to do that?"

"I'm sorry, Pot, did you just call me black?" Olivia asked with a shocked look on her face. "I wouldn't expect ADA 's to go walking around smelling the roses all the time either."

"Touché," Alex said with her grin growing wider. "So, are you ready for the most amazing Italian food within walking distance of here?"

"Lead the way," Olivia said, gesturing with her hands for Alex to start their journey.

* * *

"Oh my gosh," Olivia said leaning back in the cushioned booth she was sitting in. "I give," she said as she picked up her napkin from her lap and waved it around a bit in surrender fashion before setting it on the table. "Alex, where do you put all of this food?" 

Alex grinned as she swirled some more noodles onto on her fork. "Well, I would love to tell you I run just for fun but honestly, I love food way too much to do the whole dieting thing my whole life so instead I eat what I want, usually in more moderation than this, and exercise as much as I can."

"Impressive, Counselor, I still can't believe you out ate me though. Wait until I tell the guys about you and your super stomach. You're going to have lunch and dinner dates lining up left and right," Olivia added with a wink.

The comment almost made Alex spit out the water she had just sipped but instead settles for a glare directed towards a grinning Olivia.

"You're right, I don't know if I want you spending all your spare time with those guys. I'd rather take you out," Olivia said, still with a small grin but a quieter voice.

Alex looked up at the detective. She looked into Olivia's eyes.

"I mean, I'm not saying we'd have to be a serious couple right now or anything," Olivia continued noticing Alex's eyes getting a little wider and her eyebrows popping up a bit. "I just meant I'd like to keep spending time with you when we can. It'd be nice to look forward to spending time with someone again."

As an awkward pause almost settled between the two women, Alex finally piped up. "And it would be nice to have someone who understands our schedules that might not want to spend an hour yelling at you for having to cancel yet another date."

Olivia flashed Alex a big smile.

The waiter set the check down and Alex was quick to grab it up. "This one is mine. Maybe you can pick up the next one?"

Olivia nodded and the women got up and made their way to the door. The two started to walk back to the precinct.

"So, will you be staying much later?" Alex asked while looking ahead at the small groups of people on the sidewalk, enjoying their Saturday evening.

"Not too much. Elliot might have even finished up the last bit of paperwork which would help a lot," Olivia answered.

"Well, don't stay too late. Sounds like you didn't get much sleep last night. I'd hate to worry about you not taking care of yourself," Alex said, realizing she was being completely honest with herself and Olivia.

Olivia just smiled and looked up at the blonde, who returned the gesture.

As they approached their destination, Alex started to feel butterflies fluttering about in her stomach. She rolled her eyes at herself. It wasn't as though she was some love-struck teenager getting walked home from her first date, but it felt like her body was trying to convince her otherwise. The two remained quiet until Olivia stopped at the stairs to the precinct.

"Well, thank you for the invite, dinner and the wonderful company, Alex."

"All of the above was definitely my pleasure," Alex said as she turned to face Olivia. "I hope we get to do it again soon."

"Me too, feel free to give me a call whenever you get a free minute and want to do something. And if it's okay with you, I'd like to do the same?" Olivia asked, a bit of nervousness hinting on her voice.

Alex heard the uncertainty and decided to stop being the teenage Alex and remember that she was in fact Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cabot.

She stepped towards the brunette who stood still with her hands in her jacket pockets and pressed her lips slowly to Olivia's. The kiss was light and soft but it still warmed Alex from head to toe. As she stepped back, she held Olivia's gaze. "I would like that."

"Good night, Alex."

"Good night, Liv."


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of Law and Order SVU. I only control Meghan and the storyline.

**A/N:** Sorry it's been kind of rough goings with this story.

* * *

**Chapter 7**

Alex woke up the next morning with the sun just starting to spread warmth across her face. She turned to face the other direction, and curled herself in the white down blanket on her bed. So far her weekend had been wonderful and she was afraid if she got out of her bed now there was a chance of someone or something ruining that.

Unfortunately, she also knew that she should get up and get started with her day if she didn't want to be rushing around trying to cram all her personal stuff she needed to get done on what appeared to her only free day of the week lately. She had dishes in the dishwasher that needed to get put away, laundry to be done and folded, and she wanted to go for a run in the park. And if she wanted that run in the park to not include dodging way too many tourists and other joggers, she needed to get up and go now.

Groaning, she rolled herself out of bed, stretching up and yawning as she got to her feet. She made her way across the room to the bathroom adjoining her bedroom. She quickly splashed some water on her face, fixed her ponytail and brushed her teeth. Then she made her way over to her wooden dresser to find a tank top and running pants to change into.

As she grabbed her keys and a light hoodie on the way out the door, she looked at her cell phone to see she had missed a text message. Grabbing it, she quickly opened the flashing text.

'Thanks again for dinner. Hope you have a great day off.

-Liv'

'Does this women do anything wrong?' Alex thought to herself as she smiled and set the phone down on the table. She thought about sending a message back but she couldn't think of anything that wasn't too overly corny so she instead decided to wait until she could call or send something worth reading that wouldn't make her look like a total cheese head.

Alex came back from her run feeling a lot more motivated than when she left. Something about running always did that to her. She never really wanted to go out and do it, but once she started going and pushed herself past that first mile, the rest felt great. She took her shoes off and hung her hoodie back up in the closet. She grabbed her cell phone from the side table by the door again as she headed into the kitchen to get a bottle of water. Leaning on the counter she flipped open the phone hoping to see another flashing letter on her screen letting her know she had another text. Instead, the plain display shown back at her. Pouting to herself a bit, she drank some more water and put the bottle back in the fridge to go take a shower.

After she got out and put on a navy blue t-shirt and jeans, she put a load of laundry into her washer and went to turn on her stereo as she put her clean dishes away. As Alex put each dish away, she sang along with Colbie Caillat, throwing in some turns and slides as she maneuvered about the kitchen. During one particular slide move, she picked her phone back up from the counter to check to see if she had missed a call or text. Again, she saw her reflection in the blank screen. Laughing to herself she put the phone back down and went back to work.

"Wow, Alex, you haven't been this bad since Larry Smithe in high school and even then you waited at least every few hours to check your phone," Alex said aloud to herself. Picking up where she left off singing "One Fine Wire", she put the last of the dishes up.

By early evening, Alex found herself on her couch surrounded by a mass of papers and a wine glass in her hand. Swirling the red alcohol in her glass, she sighed and took a look around her and her eyes stopped on her cell phone. She had finished all the things on her 'to do' list and now was just fooling herself into thinking she could immerse herself in her work again to take her mind off of a certain detective. She tipped the glass back and drained its contents in one final gulp. Setting the glass down and shifting the papers, she leaned over to get her phone. Maybe she had been going about this all wrong. There was no rule saying she couldn't call Olivia, in fact, Olivia had said if she had a spare minute she would like Alex to call her.

"Plus, it's not like I sat here all day praying for it to ring," Alex said aloud to no one but herself. "I did…stuff,' she finished by looking at her now spotless apartment and stack of paid bills to go out.

She scrolled through her contacts until she found the name she was looking for and pressed send.

"Detective Benson."

"Olivia, hi, it's Alex."

"Oh man and here I thought I was going to get away with not getting yelled at today," Olivia said with a chuckle.

"Getting yelled at? What? Why would I yell at you?" Alex asked.

"Well, I figured I was going to get yelled at for how long I was up again last night. I actually thought about waiting until a decent hour to send you that but I couldn't really concentrate until I did."

"Luckily for you, Detective, I didn't notice the time it was sent. However, now that you've blown your cover, rather quickly I might add, exactly what time did you leave last night?" Alex asked bringing her bare feet up on the couch and pulling them up so she sat Indian style on the cushion, bringing a pillow on her lap to rest her elbows on as she held the phone.

"You're making the assumption that I left, Counselor."

"What? Liv! That's almost two whole days on the clock! This is not a missing persons situation, why are you still there?"

"Today wasn't really my fault. Elliot had to go, an emergency with one of the kids. I told him I would cover his day."

Alex sat in silence amazed at the dedication and loyalty the woman on the other line had for her job and her partner.

"Alex? Hello?"

"Sorry, I'm here. Okay, so you covered Elliot's day but why are you still there now?"

Alex heard Olivia sigh into the phone. "Well, I thought I'd finish some paperwork, go to the gym and then head home."

Biting her lip, Alex was thinking how sad of a day that sounded like and wondered exactly how many days Olivia had spent doing that same thing, alone.

"I have a better idea," Alex said, making a decision.

"What? You want round two with the cacciatore? Sorry, Alex, I don't think I am the person to give you a run for your money in that competition," Olivia said, laughing into the phone.

"Ha, ha very funny," Alex said, letting a little chuckle out herself. "No, I'm going to pick you up. We're going to grab some stuff to make a dinner and rent a movie to watch. And if some cookies or ice cream happen to fall into the cart while we're shopping, we may have to indulge in that as well."

"Wow! That almost sounds like a comparable substitute for the gym."

"That's the offer, Detective, take it or leave it," Alex said trying to use her best court room voice.

"How could I refuse? So what, expect you in 20 minutes?"

"15 and I mean it. I want you out on the street waiting. No last minute touches on files or anything. Okay, Olivia?" Alex said as she heard shuffling of paper on the other side. She swung her feet back onto the floor and headed towards her bedroom to find another top to wear.

"I'll be out there…what was it you said? Reveling in the feeling of the season?"

"Do what you want to do, I just want to see you ready to get in my car and enjoy a night completely job free." Alex said, opening her closet and flipping through shirts on hangers.

"Alex, what are you doing?" Olivia asked.

Alex stopped all movement with one hand still holding the phone to her ear, the other hand on a hanger she was about to push to the side with the rest. "Um, nothing? Why?"

"If you think I'm going to let you get all dolled up when I haven't even seen my place in the last 24 hours, you are horribly wrong. Come down here as you are," Olivia said letting some authority sneak into her tone.

"Olivia, I just…"

"Alex, no. C'mon, it's just me. Listen, I'll grab my gym clothes, clean gym clothes mind you, and I'll change into those when I get there. We can slum it up tonight. No fancy outfits, no styling the hair and absolutely no make up. Lord knows mine wore off ages ago. Just seeing you at all will be enough for me."

Alex looked at herself in the mirror. Staring back at her was her reflection donned in a pair of GAP jeans she owned since college, a navy blue form fitting T from Old Navy, her blonde hair tossed up on the back of her head in a hair clip. She hadn't bothered to put any make up on from her shower after her run. In one way, Alex was completely terrified. She liked looking good. She knew when she looked good. It made her feel confident and confidence was definitely something she needed more of when dealing with Olivia, especially in person. In another way, Alex was flattered the detective wanted to see her this way. This was the kind of situation people avoided for months on end sometimes in a relationship.

"Well, I guess that is fair," Alex started.

"You're not going to get a better offer, Counselor," Olivia said. "Trust me, take the deal."

"Okay," Alex agreed while grabbing her purse and her grey hooded, zip up sweatshirt.

"See you in 15, Alex."

Alex headed out her door and down to her buildings garage. As she got into her car she said to herself, "Two nights with one of New York's finest. Not too bad Alex."

Then she chuckled and thought to herself, 'Finest in more ways than one."


End file.
